Indiana Pacers forward Jarace Walker is preparing to play at the three spot in summer league ahead of his important second NBA season.
INDIANAPOLIS — 2023 lottery pick Jarace Walker is a different player than he was one year ago. The 20-year old forward is getting ready for summer league with the Indiana Pacers, and despite his young age, he's taking on a leadership role with the squad.
In year two, if Walker shows off growth in a few areas, that could change. The Pacers still have a deep roster from top to bottom, but Walker is farther up the depth chart. One injury is all it will take for him to play, but he has to be ready when given chances. That's why it's important that he takes a step forward this offseason.
This year, the Houston product wants to be better in every way. If he's going to get on the court and be the game-changing defender his potential suggests he can be, he'll need to take a few steps forward. Walker acknowledged that on Saturday. "It was just a lot of learning. A lot of picking up concepts, learning things about the league. Language, terminology," Walker said of his first NBA season. "I feel like it was a good preparatory year for my second year coming up."
While the summer league sideline leader did note that the modern NBA is effectively positionless, he said that Walker is starting at the three position with the summer league squad. That is a possibility because of Walker's improved shooting — his foot speed allows him to stay in front of almost any matchup, but he will be on the perimeter more offensively as a wing.
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